BlackBerry 10 hands on: Virtual keyboard and radical new UI

Summary: RIM's dramatically overhauled BlackBerry OS is betting on a new virtual keyboard with nifty word recognition to help it make a splash when it arrives later this year. But does it deliver on its promise?

BlackBerry 10 intro

Research In Motion (RIM) has been slow to revamp its BlackBerry handsets to measure up to the competition and keep up with developers' needs. However, the new BlackBerry 10 operating system is just around the corner; has the company done enough of an overhaul to revive consumer interest in its smartphones?

The new platform harmonises RIM's operating system strategy for its smartphones and tablets, allowing both to run on the same software — the same approach taken by Google with Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich).

To get an idea of what can be expected from BlackBerry 10 when it arrives later this year, ZDNet UK got some hands-on time with a dev handset running the software.

The demo session used a pre-beta build of the software. It focused on three key areas of the OS: the new virtual keyboard, the completely revamped notification system, and the new home-screen UI.

(Image: Ben Woods/ZDNet)

BlackBerry 10 virtual keyboard

A keyboard with smarts

One new feature that could bring BlackBerry 10 handsets up to speed with smartphone rivals is a new virtual keyboard with a nifty word-prediction system that gets smarter the more you use it.

In order to make the system more accurate, it scans emails and
messages to learn the way in which you talk and to see which words are
most often used. Start typing, and the keyboard will pop up predictions for the
current and next words. If the suggested word is correct, you simply swipe
up across the keyboard.

Using the system felt very natural and quick in testing. As it promises to provide more accurate predictions over time, it's a very
worthwhile addition to the platform.

Vivek Bhardwaj, head of RIM's software portfolio team, assured ZDNet UK that all fluency data crunching is done on
the device and is based on pattern recognition, rather than sending data
off to remote servers for analysis, thereby avoiding obvious privacy
concerns.

RIM reportedly doesn't plan to include a hardware keyboard in the first device running BlackBerry 10, expected later this year. Despite this, it is keeping true to QWERTY-loving fans and has promised to eventually deliver the OS on devices that do include physical keyboards.

(Image: Ben Woods/ZDNet)

BlackBerry 10 keyboard delete

Swiping down on the keypad at any time brings up numbers and
symbols, and swiping up again returns you to the letters. Swiping left
at any point deletes the word on screen (pictured).

If typing on a touchscreen usually poses a challenge because you don't hit the letters square on, then RIM has accounted for that. Over time, it recognises where an individual user tends to hit each key — slightly to the left or right, for example — and adjusts to ensure that the intended keystroke is entered, via an unseen virtual keyboard behind the one on screen. This "almost second keyboard" will make mis-hit keys a thing of the past, Bhardwaj said.

(Image: Ben Woods/ZDNet)

BlackBerry 10 home screen

No place like home

The new-look start screen that greets you when you switch on a
BlackBerry 10 handset will be very familiar, as it looks like a cross
between the Android and Windows Phone displays.

The default home screen (pictured) is used to show the last and
most used apps, and constantly updates the most recently used in the top
left-hand corner of the display. The tiles themselves are larger than
mere icons and are similar to Windows Phone Mango's live tiles.

BlackBerry 10 app list on left screen

A persistent bar at the bottom of the display provides quick access to search, calling and camera functions.

Although the screens were only running on demo hardware, response was good, with movement between the screens feeling natural and mostly intuitive.

(Image: Ben Woods/ZDNet)

BlackBerry 10 right-side bar

Persistence is key

One of the other major changes in BlackBerry 10 is the removal of any kind of messaging icons. (You may have wondered why the persistent bar at the bottom of the home screen does not have links to messaging features and email.)

Instead, RIM has made emailing and messaging persistently accessible in a notifications display (pictured) to the right of the home screen, so as not to distract the user from what they were already doing. This side bar also displays social-networking updates from sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

BlackBerry 10 nesting 1

Selecting any of the notification icons will take you to the relevant app. BlackBerry 10 nests opened messages — as in the email example pictured — to allow people to see the message without leaving the inbox.

(Image: Ben Woods/ZDNet)

BlackBerry 10 nesting 2

Likewise, selecting an attachment from an email will open the attachment in the same nested manner, so that the message and the email inbox are still close to hand.

BlackBerry 10 intro

Research In Motion (RIM) has been slow to revamp its BlackBerry handsets to measure up to the competition and keep up with developers' needs. However, the new BlackBerry 10 operating system is just around the corner; has the company done enough of an overhaul to revive consumer interest in its smartphones?

The new platform harmonises RIM's operating system strategy for its smartphones and tablets, allowing both to run on the same software — the same approach taken by Google with Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich).

To get an idea of what can be expected from BlackBerry 10 when it arrives later this year, ZDNet UK got some hands-on time with a dev handset running the software.

The demo session used a pre-beta build of the software. It focused on three key areas of the OS: the new virtual keyboard, the completely revamped notification system, and the new home-screen UI.

With a psychology degree under his belt, Ben set off on a four-year sojourn as a professional online poker player, but as the draw of the gambling life began to wane his attentions turned to more wholesome employment.With several years' experience covering everything in the world of telecoms and mobility, Ben's your man if it involves a s...
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